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even basic mental states should be questioned
- I sometimes find myself overcome with exhaustion
- I start to nod off when suddenly I remember I left a window open
- in an instant I am wide awake and closing the window before bugs fly in
- nothing has happened except a thought occurred and I roused myself
- and yet I was unable to rouse myself before
- I think “I am tired”, but honestly “I am allowing myself to be tired”
- and yet, I may try to meditate and still find myself overcome with sleep
- sleepy disciples might be told to practice meditating next to an open well
a therapeutic exercise that teaches how to question thoughts
- to start, take note of negative thoughts that occur and write them down
- then debate the premise, arguing for and against the thought
- finally crumple up the paper or shred it
- this very act of debating helps to circumvent the automatic acceptance of truth
are thoughts caused by past experiences, or goals?
- we may find ourselves feeling angry at someone
- we characterize this anger as being caused by them or their actions
- however, we can easily turn this anger off and on again as needed
- if one’s boss enters the room, the anger dissipates only to resurface later
- in truth, our anger is being wielded as a tool to change another person’s behavior
- this is how Alfred Adler defined anger, as a tool not a result of past experience